The present invention relates generally to vehicle-mounted bracket assemblies. More particularly, this invention relates to quick-release mounting brackets for removably securing passenger seats within vehicles.
It has been desirable to mount vehicle passenger seats, especially bench and sofa seats in vans and trucks, so that they can be occasionally removed to provide greater floor space for cargo. However, the mounting assemblies for these removable seats must be ruggedly designed to withstand the particular stresses due to the normal moving vehicle environment. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards also impose exacting requirements on such mounting assemblies to ensure passenger safety in collision environments. Moreover, to ensure commercial marketability, it is important that seat mounting devices be reliable, easy to use, and inexpensive to produce.
Previously, it has been suggested to secure the passenger seat to the vehicle interior floor or support surface by bolts passing through lower flanges on the seat legs and into the floor. Alternatively, separate flanges or brackets would overlay or hook onto the seat legs and the bolt would pass through that bracket to the floor. In either construction it was necessary to precisely align the bolt holes, a sometimes difficult task with heavily carpeted floors. Also, particular tools were necessary to properly secure the nut bolt at the required torque. Further, periodic visual inspecion to ascertain securement typically required access to hidden surfaces or placing the vehicle on a lift to view its underside.
Other proposed assemblies have required brackets and latches to be permanently fixed to either the seat legs or the vehicle floor (and sometimes both). Unfortunately, the former arrangement permits the latches to be inadvertently damaged or misaligned when the seat is removed from the vehicle and stored or used for other purposes. The latter arrangement results in often inconveniently located protrusions on the vehicle floor, significantly reducing usable floor space.
With regard to prior assembly mechanisms, springloaded retaining brackets have lacked long-term reliability and can inhibit quick release of the seat. Floor mounted retaining tracks require precise mounting alignment and maintenance (to keep free of dirt and debris) and often lack durability. Complicated latching locks are expensive to produce and often difficult to use properly.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive and reliable quick release mounting bracket for vehicle passenger seats.
Another object is the provision of a seat releasable mounting assembly which permits maximum use of floor space when the seat is removed from the vehicle.
A further object is to provide simplified method of releasably mounting a vehicle seat without requiring additional tools.
Yet another object is the provision of a vehicle seat mounting assembly having durable construction which safely supports the vehicle seat at the vehicle floor.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved with the provision of a quick-release clamp having a retaining bracket fixed to the vehicle, a clamping arm for releasably engaging a portion of the seat leg, and an interlocking mechanism detachably secured to the retaining bracket for fixedly mounting the clamping arm and the seat engaged thereby. The retaining bracket includes a keyed slot leading to an enlarged cavity. The clamping arm includes a hooked portion for overlaying the seat leg. The interlocking device includes a bolt having a T-shape or winged head which is insertable within the keyed slot and rotatable to within the cavity to a position which prevents its removal through the keyed slot. One end of the bolt passes through the clamping arm, and a locking handle is secured to that end. Upon initial locking rotation of the locking handle, the bolt head rotates within the cavity to the non-removable position. Subsequent locking rotation of the locking handle fixedly secures the clamping arm to the retaining bracket and, thereby, the seat leg to the vehicle floor. Minimal unlocking rotation of the locking handle returns the bolt head to alignment with the slot for removal therethrough.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.